Courage
by NaNa501
Summary: He just won't admit it but when she goes through a near death experience, he knows he can't let her die without her knowing. Will he muster up the courage to tell her, or will they walk out of the hospital just as friends? ONE SHOT.


**"_Came but for friendship, and took away love."_**

* * *

><p>Nobody made one sound, leaving death to parade around in silence. It was going to make a decision, take her life or leave empty handed.<p>

"…Kisha?"

His shaking voice was low, barely being audible over the rain that pummeled to the ground.

Shock and despair was written all over everybody's face, and they failed to realize the enemy had escaped. The Espada paid them a visit, not expecting so many shinigami to be there. Though it wasn't their mission to attack, Grimmjow went against Aizen's orders. Kisha was doing just fine, until one of the Espada managed to find a lucky opening.

Now there was a gaping hole straight through her stomach. Rivers of crimson blood slowly crept its way in different directions, going where the rain took it.

"Quick! We have to take her to shelter!" Toshiro shouted, causing everybody to panic. "We picked a bad day to leave Orihime at home…" He whispered to his self.

When his hard turquoise examined the comatose girl, they softened. The chances of her living after a critical jab to stomach were slim to none. But he wouldn't dare say something like that out loud, knowing one specific member of the Gotei thirteen would send him straight to hell for losing hope.

And there Renji was, standing in front of her body as he looked down with a blank stare.

"Get up."

She didn't make one movement, aggravating him a little. His heart started to accelerate and he could feel the rain in his bones.

"Shit, it's a lethal blow to the her to Orihime!" Matsumoto ran over to the unconscious girl and carefully picked her up. When she turned to hand her over to Ichigo, someone stopped her.

"I'm taking her back."

Everybody directed their attention over to the stubborn red head, seeing the determined look in his eyes. The ginger and wavy haired lieutenant's eyebrows knitted together, ready to object his ridiculous request.

"You're insane. If we let you carry her, you would bleed to death." She pointed to the deep wounds he was covered in. Ichigo extended his scratched up arms and took the lifeless body out of Matsumoto's hands, glancing over to Renji before leaving. "Kisuke will carry you back to his shop-"

"No." His hand shot up and covered his mouth when he went into a coughing fit, covering his hands in blood.

"Renji!" Rukia grabbed his arm, throwing it over her shoulder. Just as he leaned against her for support, Renji pushed her away.

"I'm going with Kisha, and that's final."

Renji shook his head, trying to regain focus again. Kisuke watched in concern, seeing how the red head started to blink and squint.

"There's no use in trying to change his mind." Rukia opened her mouth to object, since Kisuke's shop was much closer then Orhime's house. Renji's wounds were bad, but not fatal. All he needed was bandaging up and rest. If he tried to run all the way to Orihime's house, he would surely be sacrificing his self to a slow death. But before she could get a word out, Kisuke held his hand up, silencing her. "Don't worry, I won't let him die."

The hardheaded shinigami clutched onto his head, feeling dizzy. His world started to spiral around, making him let out an irritated grunt. Before he blacked out, he swore he would save Kisha.

Even if it was the last thing he would do.

"…If she'll…Abarai will be fine…Not to get out of bed…"

Slowly, he regained consciousness. A painful groan escaped his lips, capturing the attention of Orihime and Ichigo.

"Renji!" The orange haired boy ran over and saw him rubbing his eyes furiously. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine…" When he obtained a straight line of vision, he looked down to see his whole body was covered in gauze. Wanting to sit up, he shifted a little, only to grunt in agony.

"Be careful. Orihime healed you but your body's still aching." Ichigo gave his hot headed team mate a small smile.

"One of the injuries was too deep to heal so we stitched it up instead." She ran her finger over her stomach, indicating where it was. "If you move around too much, it'll open up."

'_Stomach…'_

A wave of memories rushed into Renji's mind, making his eyes double in size.

'…_Lethal blow to the stomach.'_

"…Why is Orihime taking care of me?" The two humans froze, knowing he must have finally remembered. "Where's Kisha?"

When they didn't answer, the raged man took in his surroundings. "We're in Soul Society aren't we? What the hell is going on?"

"Calm down Abarai-san, Kisha-"

"Tell me where she is!" Even though he felt a sharp affliction on his stomach, it wasn't enough to stop him from getting angry.

"Take it easy Renji. Orihime tried to heal Kisha but she couldn't. We took her to Unohana knowing she was our last hope." Hearing the explanation cooled him down, but snapped when Ichigo didn't keep talking.

Kisha was alive, but nowhere near fine.

"Well? That doesn't answer my question!" Orihime gasped when Renji ruthlessly stumbled out of the bed. "Where's Kisha?"

"Renji, wait!"

Just as Ichigo reached out to hold him back, the red headed man rushed out. His eyes darted from door to door, peeking into the small windows. She was nowhere in sight, but he never gave up.

Tears dwelled up in his eyes, which he quickly wiped away with his hand. Just as he could see clearly again, his body jolted to a halt. There she was, her ruby red hair being the biggest give away. Eagerly, his hands pulled down on the handle, slipping before getting a grip on it.

"Kisha!"

He wanted a response, but not this kind.

She only seemed surprised for a second, and then smiled. But he knew that was only to cover up the misery. As he took a closer look, he noticed how pale her face was. The thick layer of gauze wrapped around her stomach caught his eye, but he quickly looked away in shame. His hands balled up into tight fists, carrying this heavy feeling of guilt.

He could have prevented this.

But he had been too careless.

"…How are you feeling?"

What kind of an answer did he want? If she insisted she was okay, he would know it was a lie. If she came out with the cold, hard truth, it would only add on to the disgrace.

But when she did neither and just didn't respond at all, Renji slammed his hand onto the wall. He buried his eyes into his arm, feeling even more remorseful.

Maybe it was selfish, but he couldn't possibly let Kisha go without her knowing how much he adored her.

How much he cherished her.

How much _he loved her_.

If she had died today, he couldn't have possibly gone on.

And now that he knew she was alive, all he needed was courage.

He would confess, and he would never allow her to be in that hospital bed ever again.

"Don't beat yourself up kid." Kisuke walked in, grinning. "Kisha can't talk right now because of her injury. And I know for sure you crying would only make her upset."

And upset she was. Beyond it really, she knew Renji thought this was his entire fault. She hated how he always took the blame for things like this, when really, it was Kisha's mistake.

He turned around, not being able to pick his head up again.

"Hmm?" Kisuke pulled out his fan and hid his Cheshire cat smile. "It seems as though Kisha wants you to come closer Abarai-Kun."

It was true. She limply motioned for him to come over to her.

The least he could do was to follow what she says, so he dragged his feet over to the side of her bed. He sat down on the stool, being eye level with Kisha.

With an extend of her hand, she brought him closer. Her head tilted to the side, her eyelids closing together. Before he could react, she planted a soft kiss on his lips, and drew away.

Instantly, a blush crawled up his neck and onto his face.

Kisha just smiled happily at his reaction and sat there like nothing happened.

Unohana walked in, confused. "What happened? Kisha should be getting rest, so visitors aren't welcomed right now."

"Can't you see what's going on?" Kisuke genuinely grinned, and the captain glanced over to the two red heads.

"They walked in this hospital as friends." When he heard multiple footsteps approaching closer, he exited, bringing Unohana with him. Just as everybody else got there, he closed the door. "And they'll exit as lovers."


End file.
